Walking in a Winter Wonderland
by pulldownthedawn
Summary: What happens when Sarah gets lost in the woods on a cold Christmas Eve? Will she call upon the Goblin King for help? Not willingly, at least. A little fluffy fic for the holidays. One-shot. Please read and review!


**Walking in a Winter Wonderland**

_Disclaimer: I do not own _Labyrinth.

**Author's Note: **This one-shot is in no way related to my other story, _Down Once More _(aside from the one Ellie reference). I just wanted to do a little fluffy fic in honor of Christmas. That being said, if you have not read _Down Once More_, I would very much appreciate it if you would check it out. Enjoy!

The sun was slowly setting in the western horizon, though it was hard to see it through the covering of clouds above. All one might have noticed was that it was becoming increasingly darker and that a dark blue and purple tint was highlighting the Earth. Bright holiday lights shone out of houses in the small town, a futile attempt to keep the darkness at bay. Just outside the town, where there were no lights (and no houses for that matter), lay a long stretch of forest. In this forest a peaceful silence had settled through the trees, only interrupted by the occasional whistle of the wind.

Beneath one of these trees—an evergreen—sat a shivering brunette girl. Her name was Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth. Now, one may question why a girl with such a title was sitting alone in a darkened forest in the dead of winter. Unfortunately her title was only recognized in a realm below the earth called the Underground. The girl was treated like royalty by most of the inhabitants of the Underground, but in the Aboveground she was treated just like any other teenaged girl.

Even the girl's parents were not aware of how greatly respected their daughter was in the other world (they did not even know of the Underground). However, in their defense, their daughter never breathed a word of it, nor did she ever behave any differently than the teenager that she was (despite being slightly more mature and more protective of her baby brother). And so the girl and her parents continued to get into arguments as many teenagers and their parents are known to do. One such argument was actually the reason behind the girl sitting alone in the forest.

This argument had been caused by the girl's parents' decision to attend a party on Christmas Eve, without her or her brother.

"But it's Christmas Eve!" the girl had cried.

"Exactly," her mother (_step_-mother, the girl would have corrected) replied calmly. "Your father and I would like to go out and do something festive. You are more than welcome to attend your own party. The Smith's daughter offered to babysit Toby. Her parents are going to the party as well."

"Families are supposed to be _together_ for Christmas."

"And we will be," her father said, picking up some mashed potatoes with his fork. "It's only a few hours, Sarah. You're seventeen years old, I think you can entertain yourself for that long. Weren't you invited to Ellie's Christmas party?"

"Her party was _last _Friday. _Her _parents recognize that tonight is a family occasion," she said accusingly. "You should at least be here for Toby's sake. He shouldn't grow up thinking that Christmas is only about presents and Santa Claus."

"We'll put Toby to bed before we leave and we'll be here when he wakes up." Karen, her step-mother, looked over at her little son. "I doubt he'll miss us in that time. He'll be asleep for goodness' sake!" She let out a brief laugh.

"Where is this all coming from, Sarah?" Robert, her father, asked. "You've never cared so much about us all being together before."

"I have to make up for your lack of care this year!" Sarah stood up, glaring at her father. "You are _always _going out. Can't we make Christmas Eve the night that you finally decline a party invitation?"

"Sit down, Sarah!" Karen shouted. "We hardly ever go out. Stop being so melodramatic!"

"Melodramatic? You're the _parents_. You're the ones who are supposed to be telling me that _I _can't go out because it's a family holiday!"

Robert dropped his fork on his plate, and extended his arm to point at the door that led out of the dining room. "If you're going to behave like this, Sarah, you may leave this table right now."

"You'd better call up Patty Smith then," Sarah said through gritted teeth. She threw her napkin onto her plate and stormed out of the room. Pausing only to grab her coat and boots, Sarah ran out to one of the cars sitting in the driveway and jumped in. She threw her coat in the backseat, turned on the car, and turned up the heater. The sting of tears burned her eyes but she blinked them away, trying to focus on driving. She backed out of the driveway and drove away, the house becoming nothing but a speck in the corner of her rear-view mirror.

It had been around 4 when she'd left the house. They'd been having an exceptionally early dinner so they could get any and all "Christmas Eve activities" out of the way, before Karen and Robert had to leave.

_To make Christmas more _convenient _for them_, Sarah thought with disdain.

The scenery outside the car flashed from the suburban neighborhood, to the festively decorated downtown, to a vast expanse of snow covered fields, and finally to a stretch of trees powdered with white. Sarah pulled to the side of the road and turned the engine off. She laid her forehead against the steering wheel and let a warm river of tears flow freely down her cheeks.

Ever since her adventure in the Underground, Sarah had come to desire to be closer to her family. Although that didn't mean she didn't continue the moodiness that is attributable to the teenage years, it did mean that she strove to spend more time with them than other people her age. It hurt her deeply when Robert and Karen did not uphold her same philosophy at times; it hurt her so much that she'd allowed her dramatic side to trick her into believing that none of her parents upheld her family values. This belief was made even stronger whenever Sarah thought of her mother whom had run away from family life to become an actress.

Sarah needed to get out of the car, it was too confining; it was trapping her inside the sea of her own thoughts. She lifted her head up and grabbed her coat out of the backseat. She pulled out her hat and gloves which she had lazily shoved into the sleeve. With all of her winter apparel on, she stepped out of the fading warmth of the car and into the sharp cold. Taking care to tuck her jeans into her boots, she set off through the trees.

She'd walked deeper and deeper into the forest, fearless of what might be hiding there. She'd eventually found herself at the top of a rather steep—but not very tall—hill. Not being very cautious, she'd taken one long stride down it...and slipped. She landed on her back, and kept herself from slipping further by kicking out her right foot, which caught on the edge of the bank of a small stream. The stream had a thin layer of ice covering it that did not protect her left leg from the water underneath.

She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Eventually she pulled her leg out of the stream and got herself into a standing position on the opposite bank. She walked over to an evergreen and sat down under it. Removing her boot, she turned it over to dump out the water that was trapped inside. She then replaced it and pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and leaning back against the trunk of the tree. She'd remained sitting like that as night approached.

That was where she was now. Shivering, wet and lonely, watching the darkness consume the forest. Her brain tried to get her to move once or twice but her body refused to respond. She wondered briefly if her parents were out there looking for her, but doubt had quickly pushed that thought away. She wasn't afraid of the dark, and she wasn't afraid of any animals or humans that may have been wandering around nearby, but she was afraid of being alone. However, no more tears came to her eyes and she didn't feel sad or angry any longer. In fact, she didn't feel anything other than cold and lonely.

Her shivering became increasingly violent, and soon her feelings and thoughts were focused only on how cold she was. She managed to get herself to move enough so she could lie down on the snowy floor. Perhaps if she slept she could escape the cold.

_I am pretty tired_, she thought as her eyelids drooped slightly. She was very close to sleep but her shaking body kept her from completely slipping away.

A barn owl came to rest in a nearby tree. Its snowy white feathers blended in with the winter background. It watched Sarah through big black eyes, its expression unreadable.

"_Sarah._"A familiar voice echoed off the trees to Sarah. "_Sarah,_" it whispered again. "_Wish for me Sarah._"

"Jareth." The name rolled off her tongue with little effort.

"_Yes, Precious. You must wish for me. I cannot help you unless you wish for me._"

"I...can't," she murmured.

"_You most certainly can, Sarah._"

"I shouldn't."

"_Wish for me, Precious_." This time the voice was whispered directly into her ear. It sounded thick and smooth like velvet, sinful in all of the most pleasurable ways.

"I...I wish...for...the Goblin King..." She trailed off and her eyelids fell shut.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. The owl flew off his perch and down to the brunette. Two shiny leather boots landed beside the girl's sleeping form. The owner of the boots was clothed entirely in black, making his golden blond hair even more striking. His skin was pale and smooth and his lips were thin and soft. But it was his eyes that were the most interesting feature on his handsome face; one was an icy blue that shone brightly even in the dark, the other was an earthy brown that hid many secrets and veiled his inner emotions.

"What have you done now, Precious?" He murmured, smirking down at the pretty young girl.

…

Warmth. That was the first thing Sarah noticed as she drifted away from her dreams. It felt so pleasant that, if it hadn't been for the second thing she noticed, she most certainly would have kept her eyes closed. As it were, she felt a strong arm wrapped around her midsection, and something soft and smooth rubbing against her cheek. She slowly lifted her eyelids and shifted to look at whomever was holding onto her. A pair of mismatched eyes met her sea green eyes. She blinked once and then quickly scrambled out of his grasp. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the fire directly behind her and nearly backed into it.

Quickly the Goblin King shot out his gloved hands and pulled her away from the flames. When he was positive that she would be safe, he released his hold on her and took to merely watching her.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" She stuttered.

"You wished for me, Precious," he said simply. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, as if he were searching her for something.

"I did _not_!" She cried. "I wouldn't...I mean..." She stood up and began backing up even further away.

"You most certainly did. Now come back to the fire before you start shivering again."

She stopped moving backward but remained where she was. "Was...was I asleep when this happened?"

"You're very fortunate that you called me when you did." He ignored her question, staring at the fire. "You could have frozen to death. Your clothing was absolutely soaking." He looked over at her. "What exactly were you doing?"

She reached down to touch her jeans. Instead her fingers ran across a thick, soft cotton fabric. She looked down to see that her old outfit had been replaced with a long green sweater-tunic, brown leggings, and furry brown boots.

"Oh my god! You...you _changed _me?" A deep blush rose to her face both from embarrassment and anger.

"Yes. You were completely drenched," he said, not noticing her blush. "Would you have preferred me to let you remain in those shiver-inducing pants?"

Sarah opened her mouth to respond but only air came out.

"I couldn't allow you to continue to shake so violently," he explained with a shrug. "Though if you enjoy shivering that much, I know a few ways to induce it myself." He flashed her a wicked grin.

"You used me while I was most vulnerable!" Sarah finally shouted. "You removed my clothes and-"

"If it is your virtue that you are worried about then fret no longer; I would never touch you in such a manner. I changed you with magic. Nothing was seen or violated, I assure you."

Sarah wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Part of her was relieved to know that he hadn't seen her in the nude, but the other part of her was offended at his statement that he "would never touch her in such a manner."

"Well why did you help me then?" She crossed her arms. "What was in it for you?"

He stood up. "Why must I have done it for a reward? Is it truly so hard for you to believe that I can be generous?"

"Yes." She glared at him. "You are one of the most selfish men I've ever come across. You do nothing unless motivated by the promise of a reward."

"You would be wise to hold your tongue, Sarah." His eyes glowed with the light of the fire. "Especially to one whom you owe your life to."

"I owe you nothing!" She placed her hands on her hips. "I would have been just fine without you. You're just sore that I refused to bow to your will and defeated you."

"My will? And what exactly was 'my will?'" He stepped closer to her.

"You wanted me to become just another mindless subject. You wanted me to become your slave."

Jareth laughed darkly. "You obviously were not listening. I said-"

"I know exactly what you said. You said, 'Love me, fear me, do as I say and I will be your slave.'" She snorted. "_You _would be _my _slave under those conditions? I believe that those things would make me _your _slave. No thank you!"

"You silly, naïve girl." Jareth shook his head. His face was turned away from her so Sarah couldn't read his expression. "You truly did not understand what I was offering you, did you? You still don't."

"Well, then by all means," she said sardonically, "_enlighten_ me."

Jareth stared at her for a moment, his eyes hidden in shadow. Then he walked quickly toward her, took her face between his hands, and pressed his lips to hers. He was forceful and full of passion, his experienced lips easily conquering her own. The kiss unveiled a hidden story to Sarah, a story that she realized had been there all along, she'd just never taken the time to listen to it.

He eventually grew slower and more gentle, allowing her time to explore the feeling of her lips responding to his. It was almost as if he was offering her the chance to lead after she had allowed him the opportunity to.

_This is what he meant_. Something in her mind clicked into place at this understanding. She eagerly deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to allow his tongue to slip in. It was a game of give and take, constantly reversing the roles of leader and follower. Her whole being buzzed pleasantly as she wove her hands through his silky hair. One of his hands moved down to the small of her back, holding her steady, the other remained on the side of her face.

When they reluctantly parted for air, Sarah looked into his eyes, hoping to find the right words to say within them.

"Let's go back to the fire," she said finally. It was all she could do not to slam her head against one of the trees. _Brilliant, Sarah, _she thought as she watched his expression carefully. _Just brilliant._

He merely smiled and nodded, leading her back to the fireside. They both sat down, Sarah still watching Jareth, Jareth watching the fire.

What was she supposed to say now? That she understood? That she felt the same way? She'd spent so much time dreaming of him, thinking of him, and hoping that he'd come to her. How could she possibly tell him all of this without sounding like a total fool?

"Jareth?" She heard herself say.

"Yes, Precious?" He turned to look at her. What she saw in his eyes was enough to turn her heart into a puddle, and make her throw away any other words she had been planning on saying. She moved closer to him and rested her head gently against his shoulder. His arm wound its way across her midsection. She no longer felt like she was missing out on the experience of a Christmas Eve surrounded by the love of her family. For sitting beside her was another person who provided her with the same degree of love, if not more.

"Merry Christmas, Goblin King," she murmured.

"Merry Christmas, Precious." He kissed the top of her head. They both watched the flames of the fire dance before them until they fell into fitful slumbers. Somewhere in the town, a clock struck midnight. It was Christmas.

**Author's Note: **Please, please, please review! They make me happy. :)


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